Page 41 of Deep Daddy

But Tucker saw things very differently. And it terrified Sammy to think that Tucker had such control over him. It wasn’t just the money side of things either, but all of the videos that included his recipe ideas too. Sammy had poured his heart and soul into them, especially the earlier videos where it was all about the cooking.

Sammy was totally distraught and didn’t know what to do.

In that moment, he needed Harrison beside him, protecting him. But Sammy also felt a sense of total shame and disgust in himself. How could he have been so stupid as to run away and leave without saying anything to his Daddy?

Yes, Harrison had been super-angry. But Sammy felt like he should have at least given Harrison a chance to explain himself. What hope of that now?

Sammy felt like Tucker’s prisoner.

He didn’t know what to do or what to say.

All Sammy could think of was Harrison’s strong, comforting embrace making him feel better. But in that moment, Harrison felt a million miles away.

Chapter 18

HARRISON

The note left by Sammy wasn’t exactly a novel. In fact, it was barely a sentence. In just a few hastily scribbled words, Sammy had told Harrison that he was going back to the city and might be a couple of days. To say that seeing this note bummed Harrison out would have been an understatement.

Harrison knew that he had overreacted to seeing Sammy on the phone. But at the same time, Harrison maintained the fact that Sammy absolutely should not have gone against his word and logged back onto social media. It had been clear from the dazed and zombie-like look on Sammy’s face that being online wasn’t good for him, and it was this that truly sent Harrison into his rage.

The thought of Sammy reverting back to the place he was in when Harrison first met him was something that Harrison didn’t even want to contemplate. Harrison knew that it took a lot of discipline to get Sammy’s mind off the online stuff, so the thought that he had reverted back to it wasn’t good at all.

But, on the other hand, the one saving grace was that based on his note, Sammy was only going to be away for a couple of days. It suggested that Sammy was at the very least only seeing this as a temporary diversion from his new way of thinking.

However, the two days quickly turned to three – and then four – and then five. It had been nearly a whole week since Sammy had abruptly packed his bags and ran back to New York City.

Harrison was at home, sitting at the desk in his study and attempting to make some progress on his novel. Since Sammy had cut and run, all of Harrison’s newfound energy and passion for his new book had evaporated. He wanted to work on it and was desperately putting the hours in too. But the words simply wouldn’t come. It was like Harrison’s entire inspiration was bound up with Sammy being around him.

Harrison was angry at Sammy for being so childish as to run out after an argument. But he was sad at his perfect boy not being with him.

What made things even worse was the fact that despite being online with new uploads and videos, Sammy wasn’t answering any of Harrison’s messages. It made Harrison question whether Sammy was trying to ghost him, or whether this was some kind of punishment being dished out for losing his temper with the boy.

All in all, Harrison just didn’t know what to think.

If Sammy walked in that door now…

I’d spank him to hell and back!

Who am I kidding… I miss that boy so much.

As Harrison leaned back in his big, vintage armchair, he took a sip on his glass of whiskey. The whiskey had been a gift from Zane, a bottle that he had picked up while doing some work in Scotland.

In theory, it was a tipple that Harrison would have relished. However, with Sammy not around and also the stress of the situation with the Dean, even whiskey was losing its appeal.

‘Fuck. I could just drink the whole damn bottle,’ Harrison lamented, putting the glass down on the polished desk. ‘But I wouldn’t enjoy a single damn drop.’

Harrison hated feeling like this.

This wasn’t how his life was meant to be. Since Sammy had burst into his life, Harrison couldn’t recall the last time he had felt so consistently good about things.

But now it seemed like a dark cloud was hovering over Harrison – and with several more hours until night, it was shaping up to be another miserable afternoon alone in the study.

Harrison took another sip of the whiskey and as he felt it slipping down his throat, he stared at the computer screen. It wasn’t looking good.

‘Did I really just spend an hour writing this… crap?’ Harrison grumbled, his mood darkening. ‘And now I’m talking to myself. That’s just great!’

Before Harrison could chastise himself any further, he heard a knock at the front door. For a moment, Harrison considered the possibility that it might be the Dean coming over. After what had happened in the Dean’s office, this really wasn’t a thought that Harrison could contemplate, and he felt tempted to simply ignore the knocking.